Capsule for preparing infusion beverages

Abstract

A capsule for preparing infusion beverages, includes a containing body and a cover forming an inner chamber for containing an infusion product. An end wall of the containing body includes a deformation section and a central section arranged inside the deformation section such that the capsule can be moved between a closed position, in which the central section is remote from the inner chamber, and an open position, in which the central section is close to the inner chamber. The capsule further includes a sheet-like closing layer arranged adjacent to the end wall for closing the inner chamber and an inner wall adjacent to the sheet-like closing layer. Also perforation members are provided such that when the capsule is in the open position, the sheet-like closing layer is perforated by the perforation members against the end wall or the inner wall.

Claims

1. A capsule for preparing infusion beverages comprising: containing body with a side wall and an end wall, said containing body defining a longitudinal direction (L); a cover; said containing body and said cover being connected to each other at said side wall to form an inner chamber for containing an infusion product, said end wall having, a central section, an outer section arranged around said central section, a deformation section connecting said central and said outer sections such that said central and said outer sections are movable relative to each other via said deformation section for moving said capsule between, a closed position, in which said central section is remote from said inner chamber, and an open position, in which said central section is closer to said inner chamber than when in the closed position, and a first opening for extracting said infusion beverage; a closing layer in the form of a sheet arranged adjacent to said end wall for closing said inner chamber from said first opening for extraction, said closing layer having a bearing side and a perforation side; perforation members arranged in said inner chamber adjacent to said perforation side of said closing layer to perforate said closing layer when said capsule is in said open position; an inner wall arranged adjacent to said closing layer and crosswise to said longitudinal direction (L) to divide said inner chamber into an infusion chamber and an extraction chamber, said inner wall including a plurality of second openings fluidly connecting said infusion chamber with said extraction chamber; and receiving openings to receive said perforation members, arranged adjacent to said bearing side of said closing layer, said bearing side of said closing layer being arranged relative to said end wall and said inner wall such that, when said capsule is in said open position, said bearing side of said closing layer bears respectively against one of said inner wall or said end wall, in order for said perforation members to cooperate with said receiving openings and perforate said closing layer, said receiving openings being correspondingly arranged on one of said inner wall or said end wall.

2. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein said perforation members are arranged on said inner wall facing said perforation side of said closing layer and said receiving openings are arranged on said end wall.

3. The capsule according to claim 2, wherein said closing layer is connected to said deformation section.

4. The capsule according to claim 3, wherein the bearing side of said closing layer is connected to a sealing shoulder provided on the deformation section of said end wall.

5. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein said perforation members are arranged on said end wall facing said perforation side of said closing layer and said receiving openings are arranged on said inner wall.

6. The capsule according to claim 5, wherein said perforation members are arranged on at least one of said deformation or central sections.

7. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein said side wall and said inner wall are a single part and in that said end wall is a separate part connected to said side wall or said inner wall.

8. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein said deformation section is made from a weakening in a wall thickness in combination with a reinforcing rip around a whole outer perimeter of said central section.

9. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein the deformation section is plastically deformable.

10. The capsule according to claim 1, wherein said closing layer arranged adjacent to said end wall is a sealing layer for sealingly closing said inner chamber from said first opening for extraction.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Further advantages and features of the invention will become apparent from the following description, in which, without any limiting character, preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows a longitudinal section view of a first embodiment of a capsule according to the invention, with the capsule in a closed position and placed inside a machine for preparing infusions with the machine open.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a longitudinal section view of the capsule of FIG. 1, with the capsule in an open position, with the machine closed.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a detail view of the extraction side of the capsule of FIG. 1, in the closed position of the capsule.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a detail view of the extraction side of the capsule of FIG. 1, in the open position of the capsule.

(6) FIG. 5 shows a lower perspective view of the containing body of the capsule with the corresponding puncturing means thereof.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a longitudinal section view of a second embodiment of a capsule according to the invention, with the capsule in the closed position.

(8) FIG. 7 shows a detail view of the extraction side of a third embodiment of the capsule, in the closed position of the capsule.

(9) FIG. 8 shows a detail view of the extraction side of a fourth embodiment, in the closed position of the capsule.

(10) FIG. 9 shows a detail view of the extraction side of the capsule of FIG. 8, in the open position of the capsule.

(11) FIG. 10 shows a detail view of the extraction side of a fifth embodiment, in the closed position of the capsule.

(12) FIG. 11 shows a detail view of the extraction side of the capsule of FIG. 10, in the open position of the capsule.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(13) FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the capsule 1 for preparing infusion beverages according to the invention.

(14) The capsule 1 comprises a containing body and a cover 6.

(15) The containing body defines a longitudinal direction L with a side wall 2 and an end wall 4.

(16) The cover is preferably made up of a sheet-like closing layer of composite material, such as aluminium and polyethylene.

(17) The containing body and the cover 6 are connected to each other at the upper end of the side wall 2 to form the limits of the inner chamber 8 for containing the infusion product 100.

(18) The end wall 4 of the capsule 1 is divided in a central section 10, an outer section 12 arranged around said central section 10, and a deformation section 14 connecting said central and said outer sections 10, 12.

(19) The central and outer sections 10, 12 are movable relative to each other via the deformation section 14. As it is apparent from FIGS. 3 and 4, the deformation section 14 of this embodiment is made from a weakening 46 in the wall thickness combined with a radius around the whole outer perimeter of the central section 10. Therefore, the capsule 1 can move between two end positions which are: a closed position, in which the central section 10 is remote from the inner chamber 8 and no infusion beverage can be extracted, and an open position, in which the central section 10 is near to the inner chamber 8 and the infusion beverage can be extracted from the capsule by circulating the infusion fluid. It is especially preferred that the deformation section 14 is plastically deformable. This reduces leakages in the capsule and eventually splashes when it is removed from the capsule holder after its use.

(20) The capsule 1 is further provided with a first opening 30 for extracting the infusion beverage. This first opening 30 can be either opened or closed, depending on the embodiment. Additionally, in this embodiment, the cross section first opening 30 is further reduced with a stream pacification member 56 arranged to slow down the stream of infusion beverage coming out of the extraction chamber 28 through the outlets 58.

(21) The capsule 1 comprises also a sheet-like closing layer 16 arranged adjacent to the end wall 4 for closing said inner chamber 8 from said first opening 30 for extraction. As it is apparent from detail FIGS. 3 and 4, the closing layer 16 has a bearing side 18 directed to bear against a bearing surface, and a perforation side 20 on which the perforation of the closing layer 16 starts. More particularly, the sheet-like closing layer 16 arranged adjacent to said end wall 4 is a sealing layer for sealingly closing the inner chamber 8 from the first opening 30 for extraction.

(22) The capsule 1 also has perforation members 22, arranged in said inner chamber 8 adjacent to the perforation side 20 of the closing layer 16. In this particular embodiment, the perforation members 22 are arranged on the inner wall 24, and more particularly, are injection moulded on its face, facing the perforation side 20 of the closing layer 16. The perforation members 22 are directed to perforate the closing layer 16 when the capsule 1 is in the open position.

(23) In order to provide a capsule 1 in which the opening of the closing layer 16 can be achieved in a controlled and reliable manner, the capsule 1 comprises an inner wall 24 arranged adjacent to the closing layer 16 and crosswise to said longitudinal direction L. This inner wall 24 divides the inner chamber 8 into an infusion chamber 26 and an extraction chamber 28. The side wall 2 and said inner wall 24 are a single part.

(24) Furthermore, the end wall 4 is a separate part connected to said side wall 2 and said inner wall 24. Especially preferred, the containing body is made of plastics. Therefore, the end wall 4 and the inner wall 24 can be connected to each other by heat sealing. Alternatively, the bonding could be made by gluing, ultrasound or the like.

(25) In order for the infusion beverage to be extracted from the infusion chamber, the inner wall 24 comprises a plurality of second openings 32 fluidly connecting the infusion chamber 26 with the extraction chamber 28.

(26) The capsule 1 is also provided with receiving openings 34 adapted to receive the perforation members 22 when the capsule 1 is on open position. These openings are located at the bearing side 18 of the closing layer 16. Furthermore, in this particular embodiment, these receiving openings 34 are arranged on the so-called bearing surface of the end wall 4.

(27) Finally, as it is apparent from the figures, the bearing side 18 of the closing layer 16 is arranged facing the end wall 4 and connected to the deformation section 14. More particularly, the bearing side 18 is preferably heat-sealed on a sealing shoulder 36 provided on the deformation section 14 of the end wall 4.

(28) Therefore, when the capsule 1 is in the open position, the bearing side 18 of the closing layer 16 lays in this case on the end wall 4, and thus bears against the end wall 4. At this point the perforation members 22 cooperate with the receiving openings 34 provided on the end wall 4 and perforate the closing layer 16.

(29) Now, it will be explained how the capsule 1 of the invention is operated, based on this first embodiment.

(30) Initially, the capsule 1, which is in the closed position, is introduced in the machine for preparing infusion beverages. For the sake of simplicity, in FIGS. 1 and 2, only a schematic structure of the capsule holder of the machine is shown.

(31) The capsule 1 is inserted in a fixed part 102 of the capsule holder until the duct 38 delimiting the first opening 30 projects through the opening at the lower part of the fixed part 102 and the capsule 1 is supported, for example, at the end wall 4. At this point, the flange like rim 40 of the capsule 1 does not bear against the shoulder 108 of the fixed part 102. It must also be pointed out that, even if the capsule holder is depicted in the vertical direction, in the most general concept of the invention, the capsule 1 has no particular orientation of operation. Therefore, in the most general concept of the invention, the capsule 1 can work in any orientation, such as vertically, horizontally or slightly inclined depending on the operation way of the machine.

(32) Once the capsule 1 is inside the capsule holder, a moving part 104 of the capsule holder moves the cover 6 to compress the capsule 1 inside the capsule holder, making a downward linear movement in the longitudinal direction L. Alternatively, the moving part 104 could make a pivoting movement. It would also be possible for the fixed and moving parts 102, 104 to be interchanged, i.e., for the moving part 104 to be stationary and for the fixed part 102 to be the part that moves up to abut with the moving part 104. First of all, the punch-like injector 106 punctures the cover 6, and finally the moving part 104 contacts the cover 6. As downward movement continues, the central section abuts against the fixed part 102, and thus the deformation section 14 deforms upwards to allow the containing body to be compressed when it moves downwards.

(33) This downwards movement causes that the perforation members 22 break the closing layer 16 and are inserted in the receiving openings 34 of the end wall 4, thus reaching the open position of the capsule 1.

(34) When the moving part 104 has reached the end of its travel, the capsule 1 is trapped in a leak-tight manner inside the capsule holder. It is worth commenting that the capsule 1 is depicted in the drawings with a certain play inside the capsule holder to make the invention easier to understand, but in practice the capsule 1 would tightly be compressed between the fixed and moving parts 102, 104 of the capsule holder.

(35) The external compressive force is usually exerted by the capsule holder of the machine when it is closed before starting the introduction of fluid. Nevertheless, the compressive force could also be generated by the user manually before introducing the capsule 1 in the machine is not ruled out by compressing the end wall 4 against the inside of the containing body.

(36) Once this open position has been reached, the injection of fluid into the infusion chamber 26 can start, as indicated with the arrow drawn in the injector 106 of FIG. 2. In this case, the injection takes place in an off-centered manner from above, but it could be carried out from other points of the capsule 1. For example, the injection could be made from a central upper area or also side area or even lower area.

(37) At the upper part of the infusion chamber 26, the capsule 1 is provided with a sheet-like fluid distribution layer 42 of a material such like cellulose or a plastic film with a plurality of perforations 44 the allow fluid to pass through. This distribution layer 42 provides for the fluid to be evenly distributed throughout the whole area of the infusion chamber 26, when it penetrates the infusion chamber 26, such that the infusion product 100 is wetted in a more uniform, slow and progressive way. This distribution layer 42 is heat sealed on a shoulder 54 formed at the upper end of the side wall 2 of the containing body.

(38) When the fluid flows through the fluid distribution layer 42, then it crosses the whole content of infusion product 100, while mixing with it. Afterwards, the infusion beverage can leave the infusion chamber 26 through the second openings 32, into the extraction chamber 28. In order to prevent grains of infusion product 100 from reaching the extraction chamber 28 during the beverage preparation, in this embodiment, a filtering layer 52 is arranged on the side of the inner wall 24 facing the infusion chamber 26. This filtering layer 52 is a layer of cellulose. Alternatively, it can be a sheet-like plastic layer having through openings that are not aligned with the second openings 32.

(39) In a specially preferred manner the deformation section 14 is plastically deformable, such that when the capsule 1 is removed from the capsule holder, the perforation members 22 seal the openings formed in the closing layer, avoiding the user to get stained.

(40) Other embodiments of the capsule 1 according to the invention are shown below which share most of the features described in the preceding paragraphs. Accordingly, only the elements differentiating the embodiments from one another will be described hereinafter, whereas reference to the description of the first embodiment is made with respect to the elements they have in common.

(41) The embodiment of FIG. 6 differs from the one of FIGS. 1 to 5 firstly in that the deformation section 14 is made from a crown section, connected at its inner and outer perimeter edges respectively to the central section 10 and the outer section 12 by means of bending lines 50. These bending lines 50 can be seen in the detailed view of FIG. 6.

(42) Furthermore, in this case, the perforation members 22 are a toothed ring configured to be inserted into the receiving openings 34 at the central section 10, which in this case are an annular groove.

(43) Also in this case, the capsule 1 is free of a filtering layer arranged on the side of the inner wall 24 facing the infusion chamber 26. In the figure, the second openings 32 have been depicted relatively large for the sake of clarity. However, when the capsule 1 has no filtering layer, then the size of the openings is smaller than the size the theoretical diameter of 80 to 90% of the grains of the infusion product.

(44) Finally, in this case, also the distribution layer 42 is joined, e.g. by heat sealing or gluing, to the inner side of the side wall 2 of the containing body. This provides for better adaption to the amount of infusion product 100 contained in the infusion chamber 26.

(45) The third embodiment of FIG. 7 is based on the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 5. However, in this case, the deformation section 14 is formed in the shape of a bellows. The undulated shape of the bellows provides for the deformation of this deformation section 14 thus allowing the change of the position of the capsule 1 between the closed and the open positions.

(46) This embodiment is also different from the one of FIGS. 1 to 5 in that the first opening 30 is not provided with a stream pacification member 56 and the capsule is free of a filtering layer 52.

(47) Finally, in this case, the closing layer 16 is not connected to the deformation section 14, but to the outer perimeter and to the central disc 60 of the central section 10.

(48) Now referring to the fourth embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9, it must be pointed out that the deformation section 14 is the same as the embodiment of FIG. 6. Therefore, no further details need to be introduced. However, in this case, the closing layer 16 is not connected to the deformation section 14, but to the central section 10, e.g. by heat sealing.

(49) Additionally, in this embodiment, the perforation members 22 are also four evenly distributed triangle shaped teeth. However, in this case, the first opening 30 and the receiving openings 34 are the same opening, thus the perforation members 22 in the open position of the capsule 1 are inserted in this central receiving opening 34.

(50) Finally, the embodiment of FIGS. 10 and 11 is completely different to the previous embodiments in relation to the position of the perforation members.

(51) In this case, the capsule 1 also comprises a containing body and a cover (not shown).

(52) The containing body has also an end wall 4 having: a central section 10, an outer section 12 arranged around said central section 10, and a deformation section 14 connecting the central and the outer sections 10, 12. This, as in the previous examples, provides the movement of the capsule 1 between the closed and the open positions previously described.

(53) Also in this case, the first opening 30 is provided on the central section 10.

(54) The capsule 1 further comprises the sheet-like closing layer 16 between the end wall 4 and the inner wall 24 for closing the inner chamber 8 from the first opening 30.

(55) The closing layer 16 has a bearing side 18 and a perforation side 20. More particularly, the closing layer 16 is supported at the bearing side 18 on the side of the inner wall 24 facing the extraction chamber 28.

(56) Now, differently to the previous examples, the perforation members 22 are arranged on the end wall 4 facing the perforation side 20 of said closing layer 16 to perforate the closing layer 16 from the perforation side 20, when the capsule 1 is in the open position and the receiving openings 34 are arranged on the inner wall 24. Eventually, the perforation members 22 could also be formed on the deformation section 14.

(57) Also in this case, in order for the perforation members 22 to properly break the closing layer 16, the inner wall 24 comprises a plurality of receiving openings 34 matching with the second openings 32 directed to fluidly connect the infusion chamber 26 with the extraction chamber 28.

(58) As it is apparent from the figures, the bearing side 18 of the closing layer 16 is arranged relative to the inner wall 24 such that, when the capsule 1 is in the open position, the bearing side 18 of the closing layer 16 bears against the inner wall 24. Thanks to this, the perforation members 22 to cooperate with the receiving openings 34 arranged on the inner wall 24 and perforate the closing layer 16 in a controlled and reliable manner.